. if not, what is it? >> let's look at some of those races. let's take michigan as an example because it has been in the press. here is the state that produces the automobiles for america that without president obama and the bailout of the auto industry, probably wouldn't in business right now. you've got to governor down there instituting right to work policies that are against the interests of 30% of every living person in michigan. 30% of the residents in michigan live in a family that is associated with a labor union. instead, they focus on taking away women's rights, standing for the most extreme lmentses of the tea party that got rejected in this last election. my point is this, huge opportunities for democratic governors in those states to point out and make sure that we have governors who are focused on balanced budgets and creating jobs not standing in the way of women rights, minority rights, and all the other areas of social radical right politics that is defined if republican party an republican governors in general. >> let me ask about california. do you expect the govern

line, michigan. who is this on? society or government? caller: it is the role of everyone in the united states. i am getting rid of my guns. my husband was a police officer. i am getting rid of all of his guns. i do not have the need for them and i do not think that it worked out for -- worked out well for her either. host: that is your personal choice. do you think that the government should follow up on that? should society do what you're doing? caller: it is up to every individual. how has this affected all of us? i think we should all work together to try our best to prevent this from happening ever again. personally, my choice is to get rid of all of the handguns and all of the weapons that were my husband's. the guns are not needed. it is my role, it is your role, it is the role of the government. host: democratic line, manhattan. good morning. cecil, what do you think? caller: all of the people that were harassing teachers about the price of what they charge their states for the work that they do, who would want to be a teacher in a situation like this? all of those people saying

remain open between the speaker and the president. president obama took his argument to michigan yesterday, where he also weighed in on a right to work all that's making its way through the state today -- a right to work law. do you support or oppose those laws? michigan will become the 24th state to have one. the phone lines are open. also, send us a tweet or a facebook post, or send us an e- mail. here's what the president said yesterday in michigan. [video clip] >> these right to work law don't have to do with economics. they have everything to do with politics. what they are really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money. [cheers and applause] you only have to look to michigan, where workers were instrumental in reviving the auto industry and to see how unions have helped to build not just a straw upper-middle-class but a stronger america -- stronger middle-class but a stronger america. people and should be focused on the same pink. they should be working to make sure companies like this manufacturer is able to make more great products. that's what they s

person in michigan. this is a nutty stuff. they focus on ticking away women's rights, standing for the most extreme elements of the tea party that got rejected. huge opportunities for the democratic governors in those states to point out and make sure we have governors to are focused on creating jobs, not standing in the way of women's, a minority rights region of women's rights, minority rights and minorityghts rights. >> but we speak about jerry brown. do you expect him to seek reelection? special in pennsylvania -- pennsylvania has a long tradition. >> i think both california and pennsylvania are great opportunities for us. governor brown is doing an extraordinary job. he is making tough fiscal decisions. i was impressed that he was able to win the referendum that gave voters the choice you either pay higher income taxes for the wealthy or you continue to cut school budget and opportunities to create a work force that is strange for 21st century jobs. he won that referendum. california voters voted for higher taxes on the wealthy. he does intend to work again. i was honored that

happening in michigan, thousands of union supporters turned out on the steps of the capitol to protest right to work measures. the measure passed. taking a look at the front page of "the detroit free press," "the law that is not over." "unions will not go down without a fight. recall efforts and legal challenges are possible." there you can see a union representative struggling with michigan state police yesterday over right to work legislation. here is the story -- host: "the washington post" has a map of right to work law states. "the wall street journal" take a look -- takes a look at which states are the most union heavy. the biggest ones are new york, alaska, hawaii, and washington. michigan comes right in behind washington. which is why "the wall street journal" goes with the headline that this is a blow in a particularly union dominated state. looking at some other news, this one out of the south, for "the new york times," "the gop control in north carolina, with a republican controlled legislature, long a politically moderate player will soon have its most conservative

. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> thank you, madam speaker. i would move to suspend the rules and pass senate bill 3453, the intelligence authorization act, for floor 2013. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3454, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the united states government and the office of the director of national intelligence, the central intelligence agency retirement and disability system and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. rogers, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. ruppersberger, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. rogers: thank you, madam speaker. i appreciate the opportunity to be here on new year's eve day. i first wish to announce the classified annex to the bill under consideration for the members of the house. this is to reinforce the previous announcement i made to members last evening.

michigan rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for the purpose of making an announcement. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. the house will come to order. the house will come to order. the house will come to order. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. in light of the anticipated house consideration of senate bill 3454, the intelligence authorization act for f.y. 2013, to tomorrow -- tomorrow, i wish to announce that the classified schedule of authorizations and the classified annex accompanying senate bill 3454 will be available for review by members at the offices of the permanent select committee on intelligence in room h.b.c. 304 of the capitol visitor's center beginning tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. i recommend that all members wishing to review the classified annex contact the committee's director of security to arrange a time for that view, this will ensure the availability of committee staff to assist members to desire assistance during their review of these classified materials. i

from texas, the chair of the committee, mr. smith, the ranking member, the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, the incoming chair of the judiciary committee, my colleague from virginia, mr. goodlatte and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. watt, who worked diligently on this bill and i recognize the leadership of senator lay high and i -- leahy. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is -- the gentleman from texas -- mr. scott: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house concur in the senate amendments to h.r. 6029? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present. t

gentleman from texas, mr. smith, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 6621 as amended, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the lay lee-smith american invents america, or aia, was signed into law on december 16, 2011. it was the first major patent reform bill in over 60 years and most substantial reform of u.s. patent law since the 1836 patent act. the lay lee-smith a.i.a. re-establishes the united states patent system as a global standard. over the past year the patent office has worked diligently to implement the provisions of the act to ensure the bill realizes its full potential to promote innovation and create jobs. the bill that we consider

that process. >> quick question on the michigan right to debate. there's one democrat who said today that if this right to work initiative is signed into law, quote, there will be blood. since the president weighed in yesterday and obviously made his feelings known, and has talked about changing the tone here in washington and around the country, do you -- does the white house feel any obligation to tell fellow democrats to debate this issue but debate it in a peaceful and -- >> the president believes in, you know, debate that's civil. i haven't seen those comments and i'm not sure that they mean what some would interrupt them to be -- interpret them to be, i just haven't seen them. the president has always opposed so-called right to work laws. as he said, those laws are generally political and not economic. they're more about the right to earn less pay than they are, you know, helpful to our economy. . he presented his views on that issue. ? when we were asking about the chicago teacher's strike before the election, you said it was a local issue and the president has, quote, n

economy in full gear. wand that i yield to mr. levin. >> the gentleman from michigan. >> i did not know i would follow the distinguished majority leader. i just want to say i mostly want to talk about plan c but for him or anybody else to come on the floor and say the president hasn't proposed spending cuts, it isn't true and it undercuts the necessary level of trust to find common ground. that kind of a statement should not be made. i said in the rules committee for three hours, participated for two last night. there was no reference to plan c. and it came up just a few minutes secretly before midnight. the purpose of plan c is to try to get votes for plan b twn republican conference. and what it does is to undermine the affordable care act by eliminating the protections and it would result in the loss of health insurance coverage for 420,000 people. it would repeal the block grant, is social services block grant, services for millions of americans and it wasn't machine years ago when chairman camp wrote ssg has been a key source of funding -- of flexible funding for critical social serv

in our video library. next, president obama talked to union workers in michigan about the economy in the fiscal cliff. after that, a panel on innovation and the economy. later a conversation about have the fiscal deadline could affect the defense budget. >> on tomorrow morning's "washington journal," we continue our look at the so- called fiscal clef and what happens if the budget cuts take place in january. jim doyle the effect on businesses. after that, charles clark looks at domestic program cuts. in more about the issue with the brookings institution. bless your e-mail, phone calls, and tweets. that is live tuesday at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> next, president obama talking about the economy and the need to reach an agreement with congress on the january fiscal deadline. he spoke at a diesel plant outside of detroit. his remarks are about 25 minutes. >> hello, redford! [applause] it is good to be back in michigan. [applause] how is everybody doing today? [applause] now, let me just start off by saying we have something in common -- both our teams lost yesterday. [laughter

the gentleman from michigan, mr. curson, for five minutes. mr. curson: thank you, mr. chairman. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert material into the record on the subject of representative emanuel cleaver's retirement as chair of the congressional black caucus. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. curson: i, too, offer my congratulations to representative cleaver for his service to all americans as the c.b.c. chair. millions of americans are out of work through no fault of their own. millions of americans are relying on federally funded benefits to make ends meet and -- as the nation starts recovering. these long-term benefits for the unemployed will immediately and completely stop on december 29, 2012, unless we in congress act. there is no phaseout. every individual receiving those benefits now will be cut off cold. the department of labor estimates that over two million americans will lose their emergency benefits at the end of the year, including over 92,000 people in my home

. this program is live until 10:00 a.m. tom from michigan is next on the republican line. caller: my name is denison calling from michigan. christmas.y dr. ron paul has stood up courageously for natural rights. and also for the constitutional limits on the general government in washington, d.c. dr. paul has staked out his positions. he doesn't shift at the wind. in a debate, he will stick to the golden rule when the audience is a billing. dr. paul has been a man of principle for decades and can articulate these positions. he brings in the young people. he spoke at the university of michigan back in 2007. he has been courageous in favor of a true free-market capitalism and of foreign policy that is ethical and moral and puts america first. i think in retirement from congress, he will be effective and perhaps we will see greater things coming from him. host: somebody mentioned the former governor of michigan, jennifer granholm, on twitter. she was nominated among others for the political year of 2012. caller: hi. good morning and merry christmas and happy new year. my hero is obama. he

midland, michigan. caller: i think it looks pretty good. i do not know how they are going to print out all of the new tax forms by the time we go to fill out our taxes. i am a republican and a bit less than $15,000 a year. i will pick up a beer can or a beer bottle when i am going down the street. most definitely. i have to collect them some days just to get by. as far as kicking the can of the road, i believe -- i do not believe in that. i think republicans have to face the fact that the conservatives always believe in a balanced budget. they always do. they have to scale down the monstrosity of a government they have. host: a reminder to all of our callers, please keep the sound of doubt on your tv set at home. -- keep the sound down on your tv set at home. here is a short piece from the interview on why the senator is leaving office. [video clip] >> many reasons. i have served here 20 years. less than 5 percent have serve that long. some of it is i am tired of living out of a suitcase. i miss 80% of my wife's birthdays and anniversaries. and i thought, it is time for somebody else to ta

state of michigan adopted a new law that gave workers the freedom not to join a union. now, they didn't do that because it was politically expedient or that they thought it was a good idea, because it actually is probably going to get a lot of the politicians in hot water in michigan. but what they did is looked at 23 other states who had adopted the same idea and saw that they were attracting businesses and creating jobs, and these states without raising taxes had more revenue to build schools and roads and hospitals. it was just an idea that worked. it's not a political idea to give people the freedom not to join a union, it's an american idea and it's an idea that works. we can look around the country today and again, we make these things political and give them labels that are good or bad, depending on, i guess, which party you're in. but we know a number of states have been real innovative and creative with what they're doing in education. we see what they've done in florida to create more choices. in louisiana particularly. forced by hurricane katrina to start a new system,

the c-span networks -- starting at 8:00 eastern, president obama visiting an auto plant in michigan and talking about the fiscal cliff and the needs of middle-class families. on c-span2, its "the communicator's" michael powell talking about the future of television. on c-span3, a discussion on the iranian nuclear program and the middle east. that's on the c-span networks. tomorrow morning, a program looking at the fiscal cliff and what could happen if the budget cuts set to go in effect take place in january. we will hear from jim doyle on how the fiscal cliff could affect businesses and charles park from the government executive media group. he will look at domestic program cuts. then more and your e-mail, phone calls and tweets. that's on "washington journal" tomorrow morning starting at 7:00. on capitol hill, a house is back in tomorrow. members will consider whether to send negotiators to meet with the senate on defense department programs for next year. off the floor of negotiations continuing over the fiscal clef. that's a combination of tax increases and spending cuts set to

the united states postal service located at 220 elm avenue in munising, michigan as the elizabeth kinnunen post office building. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rules the gentleman from texas and golf new york each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. farenthold: i yield myself such time as i may consume and ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material to the record regarding h.r. 3378. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. farenthold: thank you very much, mr. speaker. h.r. 3378 introduced by the gentleman from michigan, mr. been she can would dedicate the postal service buildings as the elizabeth l. kinnunen post office building. this was reported from the government oversight and reform committee on february 7, 2012. she was a strong pillar of her community. she and her husband operated a boarding house and together they raised 11 children. two of their sons fought bravely for their country and tragically g

minute and a half to the gentleman from michigan. mr. curson: my grandson stood here with me when i took my oath of office one of the proudest moments of my life. just moments before this horrible act took place, michigan's lame duck legislators allowed persons to bring concealed firearms into schools, college dorms, churches, hospitals, bars and sports stadiums. firearms have absolutely no place in our schools. the tragic massacre at sandy hook is a chilling and heartbreaking reminder of this. last week, innocent children, babies, went to school to a safe place where they loved to be. six public servants went to school to the children they loved almost as much as their own. those six died trying to save those precious gifts. 20 of those babies were savagely murdered. we witnessed this who are endous murders before at virginia tech, 16 murdered at the university of texas as austin, 13 students and faculty murdered at columbine. i support reasonable gun ownership. senate bill 59 is now sitting on governor snyder's desk. in the spirit of this resolution, i will ask the governor on beh

want to highlight our work to protect lake michigan. beginning with the first bill i introduced in the house, the great lakes water protection act, along with my good friends, i'm proud of our efforts to keep lake michigan clean. this legislation would prohibit waste water pollution from running into the great lakes, but our work to protect the 10th district's most cherished natural resource did not stop there. we focused on in supporting great lakes initiative through authoring and supporting funding amendments and advocating its importance, all to make sure this important program to protect the great lakes is adequately funded. i'm proud we have been able to facilitate the cleanup of waukegan harbor. it has finally started under our watch. so much work in getting this accomplished has happened and i want to thank suesey and jerry and cam for their dedicated service for cleaning up the harbor. getting finally lake county's pathway to the great lakes. i also want to highlight another cause which i have been proud to champion and that is stem education, science, technology, engineer

michigan, the republican line, good morning. caller: some things i would like to see more of you hear a lot of people talking about voting for somebody who they believe is this gender or this race. let's put someone in place of character and experience and somebody who has done things. getting back to allowing the people to build the country when we were individuals. i think that is important. i think there is a lot more of this collectivism. we're never going to be able to have a president to help these different countries if we are hurting our own country here and we are not able to grow it. host: tie that into hillary clinton in 2016. caller: i think my concern about her in some regards is tha ti think i do not know how strong of a business persian she is. i think she is more of a liberal to moderate which is fine but i want to see somebody who is very much pro-u.s., pro-growth, and bring us back to growing us inside and promoting that as opposed to saying a more broader scope. i think that broader scope will come about when you have a person with the ability to do that. i think in t

gun control. we go to erie, michigan, republican line. caller: good morning. i have a couple of grandson's about the age of the children that were killed. i think the politicians are wasting their time. anybody can fabricate a high- capacity magazine. all they would have to do is take the model of the war on drugs. that would cure all our problems. host: me get back to "the new york daily news" -- their tiny caskets not only told of innocence lost the compound of the pain of the month of a crime that has shaken the foundations of a country. one of the priest said it is a horrible tragedy and makes no sense to us. they are saying if you have not been angry, get angry. that these 20 children cannot change these -- this world, no one will. that is this morning from "the new york post." -- "a new york daily news." let's go back to the testimony of 1993. we heard from one of the husband of the victims and senator joe biden was chairing that committee. here is what senator biden said 19 years ago. [video clip] >> one of the thing that was talked about is one senator would like very mu

republican voice. our next caller is calling from west bloomfield, michigan, on the republican line. good morning. caller: i would like to get your thoughts on a balanced approach and have unbiased taxation by using a flat tax. that way you can calculate the amount of taxes we need for the deficit over 10 years. another point is to control the spending on entitlements by not giving millionaires social security benefits, thereby satisfying president obama's approach. instead of doing it through taxation, he can do it through the entitlements. guest: those are both ideas that have been raised, especially the social security and medicare benefits for the wealthy and potentially might not need them to live off of. one tricky part of that is wealthier americans have been paying these taxes for decades into social security and medicare if and a lot of folks have a problem with the idea of taking away their benefits they have paid for if just because they happen to be more well off. and issued the first caller raised and something to watch is this could really sort of set the tone for the presid

michigan to join us, mr. curson is a new member, came in during a special election. welcome. delighted to have you join us. mr. curson: thank you. i agree wholeheartedly with what's been said so far and the testimony, what i really want to say -- into the mic. what i really want to say is medicare is run more efficiently than nearly any insurance company in the world. they devote less than 2% of its funding to administrative expenses, and you compare that to a private insurance company that costs up to 40% of premiums for individuals and small group plans for administration and to pay their executives six and seven-figure salaries to do the same thing that'sed a minute straighted by -- that's administered by medicare officials. and the attempts to move medicare eligibility from 65 to 67 sounds like an easy fix. well, not only, as was spoken earlier, the recipients, those people that are 64, 65, 66 going into that category are people that possibly are already struggling, lost their jobs. they need that health care. they have a pre-existing condition, and now their very life is threatene

, michigan. who is this on? society or government? caller: it is the role of everyone in the united states. i am getting rid of my guns. my husband was a police officer. i am getting rid of all of his guns. i do not have the need for them and i do not think that it worked out for -- worked out well for her either. host: that is your personal choice. do you think that the government should follow up on that? should society do what you're doing? caller: it is up to every individual. how has this affected all of us? i think we should all work together to try our best to prevent this from happening ever again. personally, my choice is to get rid of all of the handguns and all of the weapons that were my husband's. the guns are not needed. it is my role, it is your role, it is the role of the government. host: democratic line, manhattan. good morning. cecil, what do you think? caller: all of the people that were harassing teachers about the price of what they charge their states for the work that they do, who would want to be a teacher in a situation like this? all of those people saying

state of michigan, and the jobs go down to the south. the south feels very happy about getting all the jobs, but michigan goes through maybe 25 or 30 years of dismantling. that's why we have all the programs trying to save people's skin and life and nourishment. the constitution says to promote the general welfare. host: i apologize. we have to keep moving. this in the new york times -- carl in west virginia, republican line. you are on the washington journal. good morning. caller: good morning. i watched your show every morning and sometimes i get a big laugh out of you guys. if you read every article with something negative about the republican party. you have straw men set up. first you blamed george bush for four more years. now you are blaming grover norquist. he is the bogeyman of the democrats now. in order for a republican to get back in power, we are going to have to infiltrate the news media and we are going to have to infiltrate the educational system, because our kids are absolutely being indoctrinated in our school systems to believe in socialist form of government. an

power to force workers to pay what have been mandatory dues. michigan becomes the 24th state to enact right to work laws after legislation passed the state house of representatives and was sent on to governor rick snyder for his signature. protesters of this new law number some 10,000 at today's demonstrations. most league made up of uaw union of the workers, machinists, teachers, sometimes angry crowds that seem to be taking cues from their democratic leaders. one group described by those on the ground as a mob chanting and go home while tearing down a conservative activist group tent. a member of that mob scene right here. this as protesters are heard in the background threatening the police with violence. here he is trying to plead with pro union protesters to be less physical, lot less. >> already destroyed one tent. leavitt's and alone. >> get out of my face. >> don't teardown that tend. >> get out of my face. i didn't hurt nobody. get outta my face. get at my face. lou: one state legislator before the bout had been taken declared there would be blood, repercussions, as you saw t

to go after people from flint, michigan, not so, in tennessee. by a large we're talking to smaller investors, entrepreneurs, business owners. host: what are the members concerns with the fiscal cliff stocks? -- talks? guest: for most small-business owners and senior executives at big companies, the fear is that going over the cliff, even on a technical term, will increase their borrowing costs and will put our economic recovery at risk. most business leaders point to simpson-bowles. they understand that we have to raise revenue and we also have to control spending. they generally like the outlines of the simpson-bowles deal, the principles behind it. spread the cost, protect the most vulnerable, don't disrupt the economic recovery, try to simplify the tax code. they generally support those principles. host: do they believe a recession could happen if we fall off the so called "fiscal cliff?" guest: they do. what we saw last year is business leaders were concerned that washington was not going to come together with a deal. and that it could end badly, but it was a more muted concern

space science and engineering at the university of michigan, specialist in robotic exploration and space and team leader for the development for the fast imaging plasma spectrometer on messenger spacecraft. we certainly welcome you. dr. scott pages a director of the space policy institute -- page is a director of teh space he policy institute. from 2005 to 2008, associate administrator for program analysis and evaluator nasa. -- at nasa. we welcome you as well. as our witnesses should know, testimony is limited to 5 minutes, after which members of the committee will have five minutes each to ask questions. you are not just help to 5 minutes. your time is value. you took your time to prepare to come here. it took you years to be prepared to be asked to come here, and you are here. your time is very, very important. we will not hold you to the five minutes. just do your best. our committee protocol dictates we recommend bob walker as the first witness. he refers to many of the details in the report with his suggestion. the committee and now recognizes you for five minutes to present

state of michigan, the dean of the house, mr. dingell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for three minutes. mr. dingell: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dingell: i thank my good friend for yielding time. neither he nor i need hair spray. so we could approach thaffer matter with some serenity. but i want to say here i yield to no one in this chamber over what has been done or what i have done on food and drug and safety for the american consuming pub lech. i am the author of the provision that is require food and drug to only market those things which are safe and effective. they don't like this they can take it off the market on that ground. they have not chosen to do so. the only reason is going off the market is because of the fact that it bothers the folk who want the montreal protocol to go into place. now, let's take a lell bet of a look at it. tsh-teak a little bit of a look at it. there are a piddling amount of c.f.c.'s that will be released in that becaus

. regina is calling us on the line for democrats. she is calling us from michigan this morning. caller: my comment is, i think we should go over the fiscal cliff and let everybody pay a little bit more in taxes. nothing will happen. will all survive it. host: if we do have to pay more in taxes, how will that affect you? caller: maybe $50 a paycheck, but i think i can handle it. we should stop this class warfare. everybody can pay a little more. host: what do you do? caller: i am a social worker. i make very little money, but i am willing to help to pay off the debt. host: next up from natural on the line for republicans. caller: i am e a republican, i also serve on the thomas commission here. i deal with issues of poverty all the time. -- the homeless commission here. we have no choice but to go over the cliff. necessity is the mother of invention. we have generations born on food stamps and welfare. that is all they know. we have to get people back to work. by cutting entitlements, they will be forced to go back to work. not only am i a republican, i am capitalist. work pays off. host

. thank you ron reagan, thank you and dana mill ban. >>> a big anti-union vote in mooer michigan is coming up. a right and left going at it. it isn't about gutting unions. a lot of people think so. stf about lowering wages and hurting democrats? you bet. >>> plus the most talked about movie in hollywood hasn't even talked about. it's about torture. many critics say "zero dark thirty" suggests without torture we wouldn't have gotten the guy. it's going to be hot. >>> and the gop's favorite supreme court justice scalia just came out with a sugar plum. if we can't have moral feelings request homosex you'llity, can we have it against murder? can we have it against other things? >>> finally, let me finish with the problem with judge scalia. i think you just heard it. this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> everyone loves a winner. president obama's job approval rating has been lifted by his re-election victory. several new polls have him above 50%. some by large margins. 50% aprorve the job is doing versus 47% two disapprove.the president is plus eight in a new gallup poll. he's plus 12

ugly yesterday in michigan when they become the 24th right to work state in a huge blow to labor. about 10,000 protesters were outside the capitol and some brought down a tent housing those from the koch brothers' americans for prosperity. and steven crowder suffered a cracked tooth. here's a video he posted online. >> get the [ mute ] out of my face! get the [ mute ] out of my face! >> you hurt a lady in there. >> i didn't hurt nobody. get the [ mute ] out of my face! back the [ mute ] up! >> stop tearing down the tent. >> back the [ mute ] up! >> let's go to michigan where i'm joined by bill balinger. and also doug geist. he's a representative in the michigan state house. i hear you're a good reporter. what happened there yesterday? could you give us a good report on what we saw in words? >> not really. i think with 12,500 people milling around the capitol and inside the capitol, it's a miracle there wasn't more of this than there was. i think there were only three arrests, three pepper spray attacks by the police. i think you could have expected this, and i don't think we shou

heads to michigan at 1:30 p.m. eastern time. he will be making those remarks in michigan, pushing for his case in the so-called fiscal cliff talks. back to your phone calls. democratic caller, the vienna. caller: i have one thing to say, probably two. there should be a fair tax on everyone. that man who was running for president, i cannot think of his name right now, he had the 999 plan. the rich, the poor, they would be taxed 999. i think that that should go into effect. as far as welfare, we should bring back or bring in the u.s. collecting welfare and go ahead and put drug testing in their. people testing positive for drug use, crack, cocaine, they should be pulled off of welfare. get that money back. i think we should all sacrifice the tax that everyone on their income would not have to pay. host: ok, that was wilson from louisiana. this headline is from "the baltimore sun." "a clash over supreme court cases." the piece goes into two justices and their coalition sunny side, when the court takes on gay marriage cases. there's a front-page story about a woman at the center of that c

. jack in allenson, michigan, on our line for independents. go ahead, jack. caller: i want to ask mr. rosenberg if he has ever heard of lincoln electric in cleveland, ohio. host: and why did he wanted to know that? caller: well, they wrote a book, james f. lincoln wrote a book, a new approach to industrial economics where they have no unions. everybody is responsible for their own work. they do peace work. everybody's responsible. everybody has a lifetime job. they get huge pieces of the pie. and ownership is -- the people, the workers, everybody owns the piece of the pie. host: what does this have to do with the fiscal cliff? caller: well, if more -- if more people -- if more industries would go to that, they wouldn't fall off the cliff. everybody would go to work. host: mr. rosenberg? guest: so i haven't heard of that but it sounds like a great place to be and live. i would have to get the name of that again. host: next up is don on the washington redskins. -- "washington journal." caller: i've been on social security for several years now. it's my understanding that the amount of

moment in michigan today. one of the most heavily unionized states in america. that state is on the verge of passing something called a right to work law that would make it illegal to force anyone to join a union or pay union dues if they want to take the job. you've got live pictures here in front of you from the state capitol in michigan. that's lansing. thousands of protesters, none too happy with those challenging this law. more than 600,000 michigan workers are part of a union. they belong. and if you do the math with the population, that works out to nearly 18% of the state's workforce. much higher than the national percentage as well. our alison kosik has been story all morning long and the noise level as well as the number of people seems to be growing. >> reporter: that's right. you know, as the day has progressed, you know, there's well over, i would say, 2,000 people out here. that is short, though, of the 1,000 that was expected. inside the capitol, though, there's a lot going on. for one, the vote. the first vote of two expected to happen in the next ten minutes. at least the

hospital in michigan. future majority leader bob dole, another young gi, who had been also wounded in the european theater, and he told senator inouye he wanted to go to law school and go to congress. bob dole was elected to congress one year after senator inouye. senator inouye always joked, "i went with the dole plan, and i beat him. " he has been a soft and powerful voice. although he was an unabashed progressive democrat, he always put his country first and his party second. dan was a vital presence in the senate, and in death, he will remain a legend. his last words on earth, "aloha," and it is with a heavy heart that we did him aloha, we love you, to a legend of the senate, daniel inouye. -- we bid him aloha. >> good morning. on behalf of the united states house of representatives, i extend condolences to his family, colleagues, and constituents. in late 1963, a young freshman senator stood under the splenda dome, as we do now, in vigil and in prayer. years on, daniel inouye could still remember how quiet this ever boisterous rotunda became when president kennedy's casket arrived. a

michigan passed right-to-work legislation despite large union protests. we'll have the governor's reaction, straight ahead. >>> also, north korea successfully launched a long-range rocket, putting an unidentified object into orbit and putting the region on high alert. >>> but first, we have a developing story back here in the states. in a suburb of portland, oregon, three people are dead after a gunman went on a shooting rampage inside a mall filled with holiday shoppers. witnesses say it was a chaotic scene inside the mall as the man reportedly dressed in body armor and wearing a white mask opened fire with a high-power rifle. this morning, investigators are trying to learn more about the motive and the suspect who police say shot himself to death. nbc's jay gray joins us from portland with the latest details. jay? >> reporter: hey, there. yeah, bill, just a tragedy unfolded here yesterday afternoon and mall's still on lockdown early this morning as local, state and federal agents continue to comb the area looking for any evidence trying to answer obviously the questions of how a

its rights in lansing, michigan. out in the cold voicing outrage on the steps of the statehouse over right to work legislation that governor rick snyder says he will be signing when it reaches his desk likely tomorrow. joining me now nbc's ron mott live in lansing. ron, what is the latest, and how did this come to a head so quickly in michigan? >> reporter: it came together very quickly, andrea. good day to you. it's a cold day out here, but these folks are very fired up. they don't like the way that this legislation was pushed through the statehouse here. they believe that this was a republican strategy to go through a lame-duck session. they know they've got a little more democratic leaning legislature coming here next month, and they figure that this was the most opportune time to push this legislation through. a very small window of time to actually debate the issue, and then as you mention, tomorrow governor snyder is expected to sign this into law, making michigan the 24th right to work state. i spoke with the head of the chamber here in michigan just a few moments ago. he says

opposite you. >> plus, fighting the poll gram in michigan. the plan to fight for democracy, the right wing media distracts with this. [bleep]. >> we'll tell you what's really happening and why they have it all wrong. you're watchi ining "politics nation" on msnbc. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please? up high! ok. don't you have any usefull apps on that thing? who do you think i am, quicken loans? ♪ at quicken loans, our amazingly useful mortgage calculator app allows you to quickly calculate your mortgage payment based on today's incredibly low interest rates... right from your iphone or android smartphone. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ >>> ha

wonder, they are back to quibbleing. >>guest: why would the president spent yesterday in michigan railing against something that the michigan legislature is going to do when we are facing a few days before going over the cliff? i don't get it. unless the president things he will gain in the short temperature -- term politically by going over the cliff but long term historians put the blame on the president of the up. it may look like a gain short term, but in the long run, is that really helpful to the president's reputation in 20 or 30 years they could not get a deal and push the country into another recession or a short-term recession? >> harry reid, the majority leader, would say very unlikely we would have a deal by christmas, ostensibly we are running out of days on the calendar. if that is the case and he quibbles that the republicans have not come up with specifics, are you against running to the clinton rates or are you okay where that if it avoids the hoops of looking for like revenue? >>guest: i am in favor of anything that gets an agreement. it seems to me, why are we f

many of the second homes are in places like michigan, wisconsin, arkansas, where people are looking for a weekend fishing lodge. it's not the hamptons or very expensive homes in beverly hills. many homes are scattered in the midwest. host: our first call for lawrence yun comes from dan in virginia beach, virginia. caller: i'm interested in this topic, especially being under water, but not terribly under water. some time ago, the president suggested that all the banks or lenders should forgive the difference between where the market is and what they borrowed. i thought, there's not one bank on earth that will do that. here's an idea. i pay $135 a month in my payment for private mortgage insurance. since i have had this home loan, it's over $6,000 that has gone through this private mortgage insurance. i thought, if the president wants to do something for me, why not get rid of that. that would lower my payment or increase my payment and that would be a better way to move the housing market forward. i am interested in any comment on that matter. guest: the first think most people would

tomorrow michigan is set to become the 24th right to work state. kelly wright is live in washington with the lathes for us. >> good morning to you as well. the president will be speaking today at the dongler detroit diesel plant in redford, michigan. he is expect to do address the issue. it is a pivotal time for the state of michigan. pro union workers will take to the streets to demonstrate state lawmakers for them wanting to become a right to work state. >> we are going to get it done. ifs about pro workers. it is important to give them the freedom to choose. it is important to join a union or not. it's important not about collective bargaining. >>> he was talking about how they want to move the state forward to create more jobs for people in the state should they move to a right to union situation or right to work situation. union workers argue they are making an attack on the middle class. >> this legislation isn't about anything except an attack on workers rights and roll people back for what we fought for. >> nancy pelosi says no matter how many ways republican workers try to spin

with us for charitable giving. back to the phones. jack in allenson, michigan, on our line for independents. go ahead, jack. caller: i want to ask mr. rosenberg if he has ever heard of lincoln electric in cleveland, ohio. host: and why did he wanted to know that? caller: well, they wrote a book, james f. lincoln wrote a book, a new approach to industrial economics where they have no unions. everybody is responsible for their own work. they do peace work. everybody's responsible. everybody has a lifetime job. they get huge pieces of the pie. and ownership is -- the people, the workers, everybody owns the piece of the pie. host: what does this have to do with the fiscal cliff? caller: well, if more -- if more people -- if more industries would go to that, they wouldn't fall off the cliff. everybody would go to work. host: mr. rosenberg? guest: so i haven't heard of that but it sounds like a great place to be and live. i would have to get the name of that again. host: next up is don on the washington redskins. -- "washington journal." caller: i've been on social security for sever

rapids, michigan, on the republican line. caller: thank you. i find myself hardly ever agreeing with a democrat, but the democratic lady a couple calls ago hit it on behethe hea. i am retired and just got my social security statement for next year. i contributed to the system 47 years. i discovered that a young girl on welfare with three illegitimate children gets $100 more per month from the social security fund and i do. two kids on ssi for $1,300. she never worked a day in her life, she gets $285. and she gets covered by medicare. host: is this someone you know? caller: i notice for a fact. i worked as a volunteer at a social agency where i saw this happen day in and day out. i have witnessed this. host: you think congress needs to pull back on the social security compromises? caller: i think they have to take the people that are not entitled to social security out. of the out -- out of the system. why should we take someone who has dropped out w of societyout who has dropped out of high school? host: another story that we noted at the top of the program. that's the story, if you

fladeboe kron 4 news >>pam: lawmakers in michigan passing so called "right- to- work" legislation -- effectively busting up powerful labor unions. the state's republican lawmakers calling it a victory for workers -- that's not what the unions are saying. that story tonight at 5-30. >> but first -- 49ers running back brandon jacobs, suspended for his comments on instagram. now today -- we're hearing from his teammates about it for the first-time. i'll have the story after the break. you're on timeout leo! launchint some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof! some things will. u-verse high speed internet. you know, in my day you couldn't just start streaming six ways to sunday. you'd get knocked off. and sometimes, it took a minute to download a song. that's sixty seconds, for crying out loud. we know how long a minute is! sitting, waiting for an album to download. i still have back problems. you're only 14 and a half. he doesn't have back problems. you kids have got it too good if you ask me. [ male announcer ] now u-verse high speed internet has more speed options, reliability and

michigan he was trying to sell his tax hike proposal. he claimed michigan's law that gives workers the right to choose whether or not they want to be long to a union is about politics not economics. listen to this. >> we have to say this. what we shouldn't be doing is trying to take away your rights to better bargains. >> so-called right to work laws they don't have to do with economics they have everything to do with politics. what they are really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money. we don't want a race to the bottom. we want a race to the top. we -- (applause) >> america is not going to compete based on low skill, low wage, no worker's rights. we have to get past this whole situation where we manufacturer crises because of politics. >> despite what the president said the new right to work law does include collective bargaining rights. while preached the right to workers he says american people show compassion. speaker boehner while he fights to keep america from plunging off the fiscal cliff. >> if you have an ounce of compassion this christmas seen save

want to get something done before christmas. moving on to the labor fight in michigan, over 12,000 union workers and supporters rallied yesterday. look at the pictures. protesting the so-called right to work law that will make it illegal to require an employee to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. it was not enough to stop the legislation that rick snyder signed into law. despite the long history, the state is controlled by a republican-dominated house and senate. >> there 58 aye votes and 52 nay votes. >> therefore the bill is passed. >> michigan becomes the nation's 24th right to work state which schneider said opponents will have to get used to. >> worker choice is important and this will lead to more and better jobs. the bill signed and they can finish up and they can go home. >> michigan has the fifth highest percentage of unionized workers at 17%, its history is well-known. it's a blue state that obama won by points last month. they lost these fights just about everywhere else. democrats in right to work states have moved on. democrats in the state legislature